DECAPITATED Issues Statement Regarding Rape Charges In Spokane County - "This Is Not A Conviction Or Any Indication Of Guilt Or Innocence"

October 14, 2017, 7 months ago

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All four members of death metal band Decapitated have been formally charged with rape in Spokane County, reports The Spokesman-Review.

The four had already been charged with kidnapping in the first degree. The rape charges vary between the four, from second degree for Rafal Piotrowski and Waclaw Kieltika, to third degree for Mikola LLysejko and Hubert Wiecek. Waclaw Kieltyka will appear in Superior Court Friday, according to his attorney.

The four men were arrested September 9th in Santa Ana, California, on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping stemming from an August 31st incident in downtown Spokane. A woman told police that she had been raped by all four members of the band after she was invited onto their tour bus following one of their shows.

The band has issued the following statement regarding the charges:

"We'd like to emphasize; the Spokane Police Department has pressed charges as procedural formality, without doing so, they would be forced to release band. This is not a conviction or any indication of guilt or innocence.

Once again, we ask that everyone wait for each party's case to be presented and await the court's decision. With that said, whilst cases are being prepared on both sides, some facts are indisputable at this point — that the original officer who took the complaint from the accuser stated, 'I do not have probable cause that a rape occurred,' and it's taken a full thirty days to file charges, which is right up against the point at which the defendants would legally have had to be released.

The band firmly refutes the allegations and are confident that once the facts and evidence have been seen and heard, they will be released and able to return home. Individuals who were present on the night in question with information about the case are asked to reach out to the defense lawyer, Steve Graham of Spokane, Washington."